


Reach For the Stars

by therealassistant



Series: DRV3 Remnants of Despair au [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: But not that much, Gen, No Anime Brainwashing We Despair Like Real Men, i guess there could be Kaito/Maki or whatever that ship is called, once again a bit gorey, remnants of despair au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-29 21:09:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10862154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealassistant/pseuds/therealassistant
Summary: "If you do your hardest with the impossible, it will change into a possibility!"What a young, naive fool he was.





	Reach For the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So to start this off, I wanna give a huge thanks to Princeasimdiya12 who's been a huge help for this series. Seriously, without them, these fics wouldn't be that good, so thanks Eddy! I also want to thank another friend of mine who doesn't have an ao3 account, yet she does read the stuff I write to make sure there are no errors or anything in them, so thanks to her as well! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it, as this is probably the longest oneshot I've made for this series.
> 
> I don't own Danganronpa in any way, shape, for form (besides the few games I play), so please don't sue me.

The purple haired boy shook once again as he coughed into his hand, a crimson liquid passing through his lips onto his sleeve. Once the hacks and coughs subsided, he removed his sleeve from his mouth, looking down at it in disgust before giving a frustrated sigh.

At this rate, he wasn't going to get to space, no matter how well his friend could forge documents.

It's not like his friend could just "forge" a new heart for him, anyway. 

Kaito leaned back a bit as he looked up at the starry night sky, placing his hands onto the soft grass beneath him, deciding to wipe the blood off his shirt sleeve later.

The night sky was always beautiful, no matter the time or season, the only difference was that he sometimes had to ignore the biting cold in the Fall or Winter, since he refused to wear a different jacket. It's not like he wanted a new one either.

At least his grandparents understood that, among other things.

Slowly, he forced himself to lay back on the grass, hands behind his head, shutting his eyes as he allowed a small sigh to pass his lips, ignoring the stinging pain in his chest. The pain had been there since he was little, yet he could already tell that he would never get used to it. The constant reminder that he might never be able to go to space.

After all, what was the point of sending a dying astronaut there? What were they going to do? Bury him on Mars once they landed?

Actually, that didn't sound like a bad idea, now that he was thinking about it. Even if he knew that the chances of that happening was next to none, it was always fun to dream.

"So, this is where you always go after school?"

Kaito's eyes snapped open at the flat, monotone voice only for his gray eyes to meet a flash of bright red. 

He stared at the other's eyes, trying to discern who the other was, a bright smile appearing on his face only seconds later once he realized who the owner of the red eyes was. "Harumaki? What are you doing here? I thought you said you didn't want to hang out after school today..."

The other teen simply stared down at him still, lips tight into that stone cold frown as she, at least seemed to be, thinking. Eventually, she spoke up again, not even bothering to answer his question. "You're bleeding."

Kaito's eyes widened, glancing down at his bloodied jacket sleeve, before he looked back up towards Maki, forcing a sheepish smile onto his face. "Ha... It's nothing, really, just a small cut I got on my way here-"

"Even an idiot could see through such a stupid lie like that, Kaito."

Kaito immediately stopped talking once he heard that, his sheepish smile slowly turning into a pained one, before it vanished altogether, giving a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand down his face.

He should of been more careful, now he'll have to tell her. He had a feeling he couldn't lie out of this one.

Well, he might as well make the most of it.

He forced himself to sit up, wincing a bit at the pain that still remained in his chest, before patting the grass next to him. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you what's going on... Sit down, this is kind of a long story..."

Maki continued to stare down with that blank look on her face, almost looking a bit annoyed with his request. Kaito almost laughed at how serious she was, yet he forced a serious look of his own onto his face as he repeated himself, although he only looked childish in the end. "Hey, if you wanna know what's going on, you gotta sit down. The grass isn't that bad, if you're wondering."

"..." Finally, Maki finally sat down on the grass, giving a frustrated sigh as she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath, before opening them again. She stared at Kaito, remaining silent still, waiting for him to speak. 

Kaito smiled in return once the other sat down, moving a bit so that he was actually facing the other. He leaned forward a bit, cupping a hand around his mouth, as if he was about to share a dark secret, while Maki tried to lean away from the other a bit, yet she still was pretty close to him. While he was sharing a secret, though, he stage whispered his next words, confident that no one else was around to hear him, or so he thought. "Well, to tell you the truth... I'm sick."

Maki gave him another slightly annoyed look, giving a frustrated sigh as she shut her eyes. "... What sort of illness makes you cough up blood?"

Kaito shrugged, laying back on the grass once again as he spoke, almost looking somber as he mumbled out his reply. "I dunno, it's some sort of illness with a long ass name. I'll have to ask the doctor next time."

"... Wait, you're not joking?" Kaito opened his eyes just a bit in surprise, glancing at Maki for a few seconds before looking back up towards the sky, a bit startled. Maki was usually a statue, so it was strange to see her so... Shocked. He simply hummed a confirmation, nodding as his thoughts raced. It took a few more minutes for Maki to speak again, her voice going back to that monotone state once again. "Then why go to space? You could die, or are you too stupid to realize that yet?"

Kaito didn't even get angry at the other's harsh words, for he had gotten used to them long ago, almost smirking as he used one hand to point to the sky, his voice regaining its old enthusiasm. "Why wouldn't I? Isn't space interesting to you?"

"No"

"Ah, well... I guess it's not for everyone, then." Kaito sighed as he lowered his arm, a bit discouraged by Maki's harsh remark, yet he didn't let it get to him. This wouldn't be the first time someone had told them they didn't enjoy space.

He was surprised, though, when Maki suddenly pointed towards the sky towards a cluster of stars, her voice a bit quieter than usual. "Which constellation is that one?" 

Was she... Trying to change the subject?

Probably, but still, Kaito was glad for the topic change, especially considering the topic Maki now chose to talk about, smiling as he looked over towards the cluster of stars. "... I think that's Pegasus. I can't really tell from this angle."

"Really now? And what about that one? Can you see it clearly?"

"That one..? Well..."

The rest of the night went like this, with Maki pointing out a constellation and Kaito naming it. What was once a conversation about the destruction of life changed into one about the endless space above their heads. 

Yet what both were unaware of, though, was the black haired girl hiding in the shrubbery barely twenty feet away from them, listening to every word they said.

###### 

"How ya doin', Kaito?"

The purple haired soon to be astronaut glanced up from his notebook, looking up at the student in front of him for a few seconds, before glancing down at the notebook on his desk. "I'm sorry, but isn't class about to start? Maybe you should..." His voice suddenly trailed off as his brain finally registered who he was talking to, his head snapping up, pencil slamming onto the table as he stared up at the student in front of him.

Oh god... 

It was **her**.

"Y-You're..."

His voice trailed off, which was followed by a quick laugh from the student in front of him, who placed her hands on her hips as she nodded her head. "So I'm that popular, huh? Well, I guess we can skip introductions then... Your classmate, Tsumugi, brought me here! I just talked to one of your other classmates, who's a total robot freak! Let me tell you-"

Kaito suddenly spoke up, almost suddenly sounding exhausted. "What do you want from me..?" He knew who Junko Enoshima was, of course he did, he had also heard the awful rumors surrounding her, and even if they didn't sound true, they didn't exactly seem fake either.

Junko barely even seemed phased by Kaito's sudden interjection, pouting a bit as she mumbled her reply. "I was just worried about you, that's all... I mean, considering your "fatal illness" and all..."

Kaito froze up, eyes going wide once he realized what Junko was implying.

She knew about his illness. Meaning someone either overheard him talk about it at some point...

Or someone told her about it.

"... What? Cat got your tongue? Your little friend, Harumaki or whatever her name is, told me about it!"

"... N-No way..." Kaito felt like he could barely breath, he had made Maki swear she wouldn't tell another soul about his illness. Yet, she was the only person on the Hopes Peak Campus that knew about his secret. Well, she used to be the only person that knew...

Junko laughed at the other's expression, almost causing Kaito to flinch. "Oh, yes way! I don't see what the problem is though... Oh, wait, I know!" She slammed her hands onto the desk Kaito was using, nearly causing Kaito to jump out of his seat, leaning forward a bit so that she was face to face with the would be astronaut. "You know the second your little secret gets out, everything, every single sacrifice you've made, would mean nothing..."

Kaito bit his lip as he tried to glare at Junko, yet he eventually had to look away, his eyes shutting tight. He knew what she was saying was true. No matter how many times he tried to reassure himself, and even anyone else, to achieve their dreams, he would never achieve his own dream of going to space.

Still, that sudden realization of how powerless he was to everything wasn't going to make him stupid.

If Junko was talking to him, then that meant that she was keeping his secret for a reason. Most likely blackmail. So it only took a few minutes for Kaito to speak up, his hand clenched into a fist, his teeth clenched. "... How much do you want..?"

He didn't flinch at all at Junko's laugh this time. The strawberry blond shook her head, that condescending smirk still on her face as her hands went back to her hips, her blue eyes holding almost an... Evil mischief in them. "Awh, don't be like that, Kaito. I don't want cash, I already make enough of that..."

Now Junko was starting to get on his nerves even more, his voice almost at a shout as he glared towards the other, his fist being raised, as if he was about to hit Junko. "Then what the hell do you want..?!"

Junko glanced behind her, glancing over towards the entrance to the classroom, before turning back towards Kaito, her voice lowered to a whisper, although that smile was still on her face. "It's still not obvious? I want information."

"... On what?"

"Everyone in your class, of course!"

Kaito gave Junko a confused look, opening his mouth to ask her why she even needed that sort of information, before a voice suddenly spoke up from the classroom entrance. "Kaito..? Who is this?"

Kaito moved a bit so that he could see who was behind Junko, while the fashionista barely glanced over her shoulder. The would be astronaut's eyes widened once he saw Shuichi in front of the door, the detective's eyes wide to the point they were visible under his hat.

The purple haired boy opened his mouth to yell at the detective, to tell him to get out of the classroom before this madwoman did anything, yet she beat him to it. She wrapped an arm around his neck as she waved at the detective, giving him an almost insane looking smile, which almost seemed like a friendly hug, yet the truth was that he couldn't breath. The scent of some sort of perfume filling his senses, nearly choking him as badly as the headlock was.

At this rate, he felt like he was going to black out.

"Don't mind us! We were just having a heart to heart talk!" All too quickly, her arm unwrapped itself from around Kaito's neck, leaving Kaito to gasp for breath, the detective's eyes widening, which the fashionista ignored. She practically sauntered out of there, waving behind her as she yelled. "Well, see ya later space boy!"

Kaito and Shuichi flinched as she slammed the door behind her, leaving the two young men in the classroom alone. 

Kaito waited a few seconds before speaking, remaining completely still, trying to catch his breath, before nearly vaulting over his desk, sprinting towards the detective by the front door. He clasped both of his hand's over the shorter boy's shoulder before the other could escape, causing the black haired boy to give a small yell in shock and fear. "Shuichi, man, you gotta help me! That lady is a psychopath!"

"I-I..." The detective removed Kaito's hands from his shoulders before he continued to speak, looking almost uncomfortable from the physical contact. "I-I could... Tell."

Kaito frowned at the other boy's stuttering, before he gave a sheepish smile in response, he had forgotten about how shy Shuichi was. It didn't help that Shuichi only had a normal conversation with a few of the students. He forced a sheepish smile on his face, rubbing the back of his head with one of his hands as he sighed. "Sorry about... Grabbing your shoulders, I'm just pretty fucking terrified, she..."

The fashionista's words echoed in his head, causing Kaito to clench one of his hands into a fist, gritting his teeth, yet he didn't glare down at Shuichi, mumbling under his breath. "We got to do something about her before this gets out of hand..."

Shuichi actually frowned at what Kaito said, which was strange, considering that Shuichi usually kept a flat look on his face for people he usually didn't talk to. "Alright... That's cool and all, but what exactly can I do?"

Kaito laughed at what the other boy said, hands at his hips, causing Shuichi to actually flinch once again at the sudden mood change from the taller boy. "Wow, you're actually agreeing to helping me without asking?"

"... She seemed dangerous..."

"Alright, alright, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth!" Kaito once again went silent as he tried to think of something Shuichi could do, since he didn't actually think that far just yet. "... Well, maybe you could check out the school's files on her? Oh, and maybe investigate her dorm room too! We have to get some sort of dirt on her..."

"I... I don't think I'm supposed to use my talent to get blackmail on people..." 

"Awh, come on man!" Kaito was about to slap the other boy's back, yet he stopped at the last second, deciding against it. Yet that smile remained on his face, although it wasn't as happy looking as it usually was. "You saw her, she's planning something, you can tell that from just looking at her... We have to get some dirt on her to stop her, and maybe even tell the police..."

"..." The detective sighed as he nodded his head, tipping his hat down a bit to hide his face from sight, not saying anything before mumbling something under his breath. "Alright... I'll start investigating after school-"

He was cut off from Kaito suddenly hugging the other, a laugh leaving the astronaut's voice. "Thank you so much man! I didn't think that you'd actually..." He trailed off at the sudden silence the detective gave off, quickly getting out of the hug once he realized what he had done wrong. He smiled sheepishly as he gave an awkward laugh, almost looking away in shame. "Sorry about that, man..."

It took a few minutes for the detective to reply, staring off to space as he went silent, before shaking his head, mumbling out his reply as he walked to his desk, trying to avoid eye contact with Kaito. "I-It's fine... I'll see you tonight, then. To tell you the information... Meet me by the school's front gate, alright..?"

"You got it man! Front gate of the school! We're gonna take that crazy bitch out!"

###### 

Shuichi never appeared at the front gate.

Kaito had waited there almost all night, but once the sun began to rise, he finally retreated back to his dorm room, defeated.

He was almost mad at the detective. Did he back out at the last second? The detective was shy, yes, but he never thought Shuichi was a coward.

His anger all but vanished once the fashionista came into his classroom, dropping a hat onto his desk. A black cap, a small amount of blood on the bill of it.

He didn't even ask what Junko did to Shuichi, he didn't want to know what happened to the detective because of his stupid plan. He simply told Junko what she asked for, telling her about some of the students in his classroom, their family life, their talents, even how they acted during class.

Once he was done, he felt drained, and Junko even seemed disappointed at him being unaware of some student's past lives. She asked, or rather demanded, him to find out more info by tomorrow, which he agreed to without protest. Yet all he could think about was the detective, who didn't appear in class, or for the next couple of days. 

Until he suddenly appeared, an arm in a cast, scratches all over his face, his hat missing from his head, yet he had a smile on his face.

Kaito was of course happy to see the detective back in class, yet it took awhile for the would be astronaut to talk to the detective, almost afraid to hear what the detective would say to him.

Yet the detective smiled once Kaito finally worked up the courage to talk to him, even laughing a bit, which startled his classmate. It startled Kaito even more once he tried to give the ultimate detective back his hat, and Shuichi declined it.

"I don't need it anymore, Kaito. Do whatever you want with it, throw it away, burn it, shred it to bits. I don't care."

In the end, Kaito had kept it, leaving it in his dorm room to disappear forever. He had given up on trying to stop whatever Junko was planning at this point, giving up any info he gathered each day on his classmates, which drained him more and more as well. Junko was like a vampire who ate his dreams and passion away, leaving an empty shell.

He had to do something, anything at all to get out of this. If he couldn't overcome this torture, then how could he become an astronaut? Actually, no, scratch that, he couldn't even become an astronaut with the disease he had, which Junko had no problem with reminding him each day.

He had to whatever he could to both get out of Junko's grasp and to achieve his dream. No matter the cost.

###### 

The sound of little feet echoed down the alleyway, which was followed by the sound of a rocket, or screams. It was hard to run down the alleyway, since the entire area was covered in debris from even when the Tragedy first started, yet some of the children did manage to escape it, out of breath and drenched in sweat. One of them glanced into the alleyway, eyes wide, their voice a whisper. "D-Do you think we escaped it..?"

One of the other children, a boy with light blond hair, shook his head, tugging on the other two children's shirts as he whispered. "Not for long, w-we... We have to go find Kaito, and tell him that-"

"Tell me what, exactly?"

The three children screamed, holding each other, as if that would protect them, yet they immediately calmed down once they saw who was speaking, their terrified looks turning into bright smiles, shouting in unison. "Big brother, you're here!"

The man in what seemed to be in a spacesuit laughed, his laughter echoing in the desolate city, bending down on one knee as he spoke. "Michael, Jane, Thomas! What are you three doing here?" He then looked around, his smile shrinking just a bit as he noticed the lack of children. "... Where is the rest of your group?"

Jane, the youngest, yet the most deadly of the three children, burst into tears, her cries startling the other two kids. "T-There was a f-f-flash of green... A-And some weird monster appeared i-in front of us..! We attacked it, s-since we thought it was w-weak, but... But it k-killed... E-Everyone..!"

"A monster, you say?" The astronaut like figure hummed in thought, glancing at the entrance of the alleyway, as he went silent. "... Well then, how about we take a look and see what this "monster" is?"

Before the other kids could stop him, the astronaut like figure walked casually into the alleyway, once again humming a small tune under his breath. It almost annoyed him that he had such a silly sounding song stuck in his head, yet he couldn't help it, whatever song the ultimate pianist made just seemed to get stuck in his head.

His smile immediately dropped once he got into the alleyway, seeing the carnage in it, with the green figure in the center of it all. "You know, you could be just a bit more subtle with your stealth. Well, it's not like you're pretty stealthy in the first place..." 

The green clad figure walked towards the man in the astronaut looking suit, its voice and face void of any emotion whatsoever as it spoke. "As I believe you've said before, Kaito, stealth is not my strongest suit. I'm only here to make sure your suit is working, since Iruma can't be here today."

Kaito nodded as he hummed in thought once again, glancing towards the entrance of the alleyway before glancing over towards the robot. "Well... I guess I can forgive you for killing my sisters and brothers this one time, Kiibo, since this is your first time on my turf and all... So, do you need me to do anything? Do we need to go anywhere?"

The robot shook his head, gesturing towards the other's chest as he once again spoke. "It's K1-B0, Kaito, and there is no need for either of that, I just need to check if everything surrounding your vital organs are working."

Kaito didn't seem to care about the other correcting him, as well as not even being uncomfortable with what the other was suggesting at all, raising his hands to the part of the space suit like outfit covering his chest, unzipping it, revealing his chest, or rather, what was left of it.

It seemed like someone had carved a huge hole into his chest, revealing the organs underneath his skin, wires and tubing surrounding the organs, with a few even running through his heart, lungs, and ribs. Each one seemed to radiate some sort of energy, keeping him alive far longer than the disease he had would allow.

The robot bent down a bit, an audible whir sound made when the robot tilted his head to the side, not disgusted at all by the grotesque display, after all, he had to cut off his own body parts to become who he was today. Kaito stood there in silence, although that didn't last long, he was never really one to remain silent for long periods of time. "So, are you going to watch the new killing game?"

Although the robot had no interest topics such as this, he decided to reply, knowing Kaito would speak anyway even if he didn't speak. "Which one do you speak of? Junko's? Or Shuichi's?"

Kaito shrugged, mumbling out his reply. "Either one..."

"I am going to watch neither one. I do not see the point in watching such pointless things..." The robot stood up straight once again once he seemed to be done, sighing a bit as he nodded his head. "Alright, we are done here. I don't see why you don't just replace your organs with machinery, it would be much easier."

Kaito scowled as he zipped the astronaut suit back up, waving the robot off as he spoke. "I'm not okay with "help humanity" thing you like to do, Kiibo, I'm doing this to achieve my dream, and get to space..."

"..." The robot sighed as he shook his head, a disappointed look crossing his face before it quickly vanished, not even bothering to correct the other once again. "Very well, Kaito, I bid you farewell." Before Kaito could thank the robot, or even say anything in reply, the robot practically vanished, leaving the would be astronaut in a shocked silence.

"..." Eventually, Kaito shrugged off the strange encounter, walking back towards the alleyway exit, where the three children that he had left behind still were.

All three quickly stood up, rushing towards their "big brother", nearly tackling the young man, although Kaito barely moved, causing the purple haired man to laugh. "Were you guys worried about me or something? You're all acting like you thought I would end up dead..!"

Thomas, the oldest of the three children, who had shaved his head as some sort of symbol for the despairing acts he had committed, shook his head, mumbling under his breath. "It was really quiet after you went into the alleyway, so we thought you were..."

A scowled, surprisingly, appeared on Kaito's face as he almost glared down at the boy, his voice dangerously low, terrifying the other two children. "So you sent me in there, thinking I would die? What exactly were you trying to accomplish here?"

The bald boy stuttered to find an answer, his mumbles soon turning into what sounded like whimpers, about to give up speaking entirely when Kaito suddenly burst out laughing, shocking all three kids. "Awh, lighten up kiddo! I was just joking around!" He dusted himself off, ignoring how the boy was nearly into tears as he smiled down at his other two "siblings", startling both of them. "Well, we should all head home now. Your brothers and sisters are all waiting back home, and we don't want to keep them waiting, right?"

Both children glanced at each other for a few seconds, before turning back to Kaito, nodding their heads. The purple haired young man simply nodded in return, walking in the direction he came from as he glanced behind him to make sure all three children followed him. All three children glanced into the alleyway, where some of their so called "brothers and sisters" lay dead, yet they all, eventually, followed Kaito, ignoring the growing sound of small footsteps echoing around the seemingly empty city.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow this took a lot longer then I thought it would, but thank god it's finally done, which means I can head onto the next remnant. Anyway, comments and feedback are appreciated, and I hope all of you have a nice morning/afternoon/evening!


End file.
